Electric display device.



C. TREGQNING.

ELECTRIC DISPLAY DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 9, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I 1 1 88, 1 1 8 v Patented June 20, 1916.

INVENTOR j J 4 flaw/m 77 0/217 I '7 ,4 B y 6/)? W ATTORNEYS C. TREGONING.

ELECTRlC DISPLAY DEVICE.

APPLlCATlON FILED FEB-9,191!

1 188, 1 1 8. Patented J 11110 20, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J //.56 I monwsys C. TREGONING.

ELECTRIC DISPLAY DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 9. i916.

1,188,1 18. Patented June20, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- IN l/E/V TOR jW 7:; E I! 'drkgggazh ATTORNEYS CHARLES TREGONING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC DISPLAY DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 20, 1916.

Application filed February 9, 1916. Serial No. 77,188.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES TREGONING, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of- New York, have invented a new and Improved Electric Display Device, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description".

This invention relates to display devices and particularly to an improved arrangement whereby electric lights may be displayed as moving in many ways for producing the illusion that the lamps are being shaken.

Another object in view is to provide an improved arrangement for moving lamps in a plurality of different paths and at the same time causing the lamps to appear to move in other paths, thus producing an illusion both pleasing and puzzling.

A still further object in view is to provide moving lamps and means for automatically shifting the mechanism operating the lamps whereby the lamps successively move in different paths and repeat the movements .after a given cycle.

In the accompanying drawings :Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through a device embodying the invention, the operating parts being shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a sectional view through Fig. 1 on line 22, the same being on an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is a transverse horizontal section through Fig, 2 on line 3-3. Fig. 4 is a side view of one end of a cam bar. disclosing certain features of the invention. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but disclosing a slightly modified form of cam structure. Fig. 6 is a diagram disclosing how the lamps may be moved when the parts are in a certain given position. Fig. 7 is a second diagram disclosing the path of movements of the lamps when the parts are adjusted to a different position from that occupied as disclosed in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a detail fragmentary sectional view through Fig. 3 on line 88. I

In constructing an embodiment of the invention it is aimed to provide means which will give the appearance of illusion of a gyrating device capable of shaking the filaments of light at a high rate of speed. By reason of the construction this appearance of illusion is produced, when as a matter of fact the movements of the lamps are-merely in two planes and the movement is an even continuous rotary movement whereby the filaments of the lamps will not in any wise be injured; The illusionary effect produced by the particular paths which the lamps are caused to travel not only produces the appearance of shaking ofthe lamps but in ad dition produces'a pleasing ornamental lighting effect that is attractive whereby, if desired, the device may be used to attract people to an advertising sign or merely used as an ornamental feature of an electrical display.

Referring to the accompanying drawings by numerals, 1 indicates a bottom casing made of any suitable material, as for instance, 7

metal, and 2 a globe of glass or other transparent or partially transparent material. The globe 2 may be dispensed with, as well as casing 1, without departing from the spirit of the invention, these members merely adding to the appearance of the device and also acting as a protecting medium. Arranged in casing 1 is a prime mover 3 whichmay bean electric'motor supplied with current from wires 4 and 5 connected to any suitable source of supply. The motor 3 is provided with an armature shaft 6 hollow throughout, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the same may accommodate a tube or shaft 7, which tube or shaft extends preferably entirely through the armature and is connected with the casing'of the motor by any suitable means, as for instance, set screw 8, as shown in Fig. 1. This construction is provided in order that the shaft 6 may rotate and the shaft 7 be held stationary, so

that any slight change of modification which may produce this result is intended to be included by this description. Rigidly con'- nected with shaft 7 at its upper end is a gear wheel 9 and also a pinion 10. As shaft 7 is held stationary gear wheel 9 and pinion 10 are also held stationary, and, consequently, the gear wheels meshing therewith must move around or, as it is sometimes termed, walk around these wheels, and be rotated thereby.

Referring again to the armature shaft 6,

it will be seen from Fig. 2 that the same is rigidly secured to the hub 11 of a rotating platform 12 so that whenever the armature is rotated platform 12 will be rotated. Adjacent one edge of the platform 12 is arranged a In 13in which one end of the tubular sha t or standard 14 fits and to which 'it is secured by any suitable means,

as for instance, set screw 15. The platform 12 and the lug 13 may be formed integrally and are arranged so that the aperture 16 will extend therethrough so as to accommodate wire 17 hereinafter fully described. Diametrically opposite the standard 14 is a hollow standard 18 which is rigidly secured'to the sleeve 19 by any suitable means, as for instance, set screw 20, whereby the tube or standard cannot rotate. This tube or standard is provided with openings 21 therein so as to accommodate the cam bar 22, which cam bar is provided with a plurality of cam faces 23 designed to engage the wheel 24 so that said wheel and parts connected therewith may be raised and low- ;redhas the cam bar 22 is moved back and ort A supporting antifriction roller 25 is mounted in the shaft 18 and supports the bar 22 as shown in Fig. 2. The wheel 24 has its supportingshaft extending through the slot 26 and then rigidly secured to sleeve 27, which sleeve is provided with a grooved flange, at the upper end for accommodating the anti-friction balls 28. By this construction and arrangement when the wheel 24 is raised or lowered motion will be transmitted to the sleeve 27 so that the gear wheel 29 may be raised and lowered, said ear wheel being loosely mounted on shaft 18. Gear wheel 29imeshes with a stationary gear wheel 9 but both these gear wheels are of sufficient width to allow an appreciable movement of the gear wheel 29 without moving the same out of mesh. Gear wheel 29 is connected with a clutch member 30 by set screws 31 and also set screws 32, the set screws 31 being threaded into the gear wheel 29 but loosely engaging the clutch member 30, while the set screws 32 are threaded into a flange on the clutch member 30 and loosely engage the gear wheel 29, whereby the distance between the gear wheel and clutch wheel may be varied and the parts locked in a positive position at any point. The clutch member 30 is provided with a beveled portion engaging the clutch socket 33 rigidly secured to the tubular shaft 34, whereby when the clutch member 30 is raised motion may be transmitted from the gear wheel 29 to the tubular shaft 34 for rotating the same. A spring or other suitable means 35 is provided for causing the clutch to positively disengage when the shape of the cam faces 23 permits. It will be observed from Fig. 2 that the raised portion of the cam faces 23 will cause the clutch to be, engaged while the depressions will allow the spring 35 to release the clutch, thus causing the tubular shaft 34 to rotate at one time and to remain stationary at another. 7

At the upper end of the tubular shaft 34 a beveled gear 36 is connected with said tubular shaft and loosely surrounds a stationary shaft 18 on top of which anti-friction balls 37 are mounted so as to provide an anti-friction bearing for the beveled gear 36. A bearing member 38 is arranged above the beveled gear 36 and is provided with a hollow extension 39 projecting into the stationary shaft 18 to which it is secured by any suitable means, as for instance, set screw 40. A set of anti-friction balls 41 is provided between the bearing member 38 and the beveled gear 36 so that the parts will operate easily. Loosely journaled in the bearing member 38 is a tubular shaft 42 which also is journaled in a second bearing member 43 connected with the standard 14. This shaft has a beveled gear 44 rigidly se cured thereto, said beveled gear meshing with beveled gear 36 whereby whenever beveled gear 36 is rotated by the tubular shaft 34 the shaft 42 will be rotated and in turn will rotatefitting 45 to which the various arms 46 are secured. The arms 46 are hollow for accommodating electric wiring so that the various electric lamps 47 may be secured to the outer ends of said arms. By this construction and arrangement whenever the armature shaft 6- is rotated the platform 12 will be rotated and, consequently, the standard 14 and shaft 34 and associated parts willbe rotated around a central point. In addition to this rotary movement the shaft 42 may be rotated for rotating the lamps 47 at right angles to the rotation of the platform 12 whenever clutch member 30 is forced into the clutch socket 33, thus giving two movements at once to the lamps and producing a peculiar effect on the eye, whereby the lamps appear to be shaken to travel in various independent paths as indicated by the various arrows 48 in the diagram shown in Fig. 7, while as a matter of fact the lamps travel along the line indicated by the arrows 49.

In order to supply electric current to the lamps simultaneously with the rotation thereof wires 50 and 51 are connected with Wires 4 and 5 and with brushes 52 and 53, respectively, which brushes engage slip rings 54 and 55 connected with a, suitable insulating sleeve 56 secured to the sleeve 11 on the platform 12. Wire 17 is connected with slip ring 54 and a second wire 57 is connected with slip ring 55 and extends up-. wardly through the stationary tubular shaft 18 and is connected with a spring arm 58 having a contact member 59 adapted to engage the contact 60 on the rod 61 supported by insulating member 62 mounted in sleeve 42; A spring 63 normally forces contact member'59 against the contact 60 so as to make a good electrical connection. The wire 17 passes upwardly through the shaft or standard 14 and is connected with an arm similar to arm 58, which arm and associated parts being similar to arm 58 and other parts as heretofore described no additional description is thought necessary. These wires, namely wires 17 and 57, have suitable branches extending through the various arms 46 to the various lamps 47 so as to supply current thereto whenever the current is turned on to the wires 4 and 5. In this way whenever current is turned on to the motor for operating the same current is also turned on to the lamps.

As shown in Fig. 4, the cam faces 23 on the bar-'22 are provided with depressions 64 of varying depths and also raised portions 65 of varying heights, whereby the roller or wheel 24 may be raised and lowered difierent distances and, consequently, produce different turning effects. When the roller 24 is on the highest raised portion 65 the clutch member 30 is in firm engagement with the clutch socket 33 so that the rotation of the lamps in a vertical plane will be at the highest speed, whereas some of the raised portions lower than the highest will cause onlylthe partial engagement and thus produce a slower rotation of the lamps in a vertical plane. The changing of the speedof rotation of the lamps varies the appearance of the entire display, as the imaginary paths through which these lamps pass are changed according to the speed of the rotation of shaft 42. When shaft 42 is not rotating the lamps merely rotate with the platform 12 in a horizontal plane, as shown in the diagram in Fig. 6, and produce circles of light of different colors according to the color of the particular lamp. As the clutch is being thrown into engagement and the lamps begin to rotate in a horizontal plane the circles produced as shown in Fig. 6 gradually turn into ellipses or, rather, into partial ellipses because before the ellipse is completed the particular lamp being viewed will be reversed or turned to the opposite side so that remarkable illusionary effects are produced. I

As shown in Fig. 1 the various lamps are arranged in pairs and at different distances from the center, all of these lamps acting in the same manner but in different paths and thereby producing, in a certain sense, a systematic or regular interlocking of arcs of light when the clutch is in engagement as indicated in Fig. 7. It is tobe understood that all of the paths of travel could not be illustrated as each different speed of rotation of the lamps will produce a different shaped arc of light, but the illustration inv Fig. 7 will indicate how the different effects are produced. This mixing of streams of light will produce a very pleasing effect when the parts are inclosed, as shown in Fig. 1, or when the globe 2 is removed, so as to attract the attention of any one by reason of the beauty of the mixing of the different colored lights and also by reason of the natural tendency to wait and see the changes produced by the different speeds of the lamps and the different ways in which the same move. During the rotation of the platform 12 the bar 20 moves slowly outwardly and then slowly inwardly continuously so that the various effects are repeated It is of course underso that as the lamps pass through the air the effect of a stream of light will be produced and by reason of the rotation in two different planes at right angles to each other different arc-shaped streams are provided.

In order to cause the bar 22 to move in and out as above set forth, the same is connected to a link 66, which link in turn is pivotally connected at 67 to a ratchet wheel 68, as shown in Fig. 3, said ratchet wheel being journaled on a pin 69 fixed to the platform 12. A rocking arm 70 is preferably journaled on the pin 69 and carries a spring pressed pawl 71 which engages the ratchet wheel 68 and feeds the same forward step by step, a suitable holding pawl 72 preventing a reverse movement of said ratchet wheel. A link 73 is pivotally connected to the arm 70 and also to the gear wheel 74 through the pin 75, which pin is threaded" otally mounted upon a suitable support 77 connected with the platform 12. It will be observed that the ratchet wheel 68 and the gear wheel 74 are both connected with the platform 12 and move bodily around this said platform but are independently rotated by the means just described, gear wheel 74 meshing continually with pinion 10 while gear wheel 29 meshes continually with gear wheel 9. As gear wheel-9 andpinion 10 remain stationary continually the rotation of the platform 12 with the other wheels and associated parts will cause both the gear wheel 29 and gear wheel 74 to rotate, gear wheel 29 rotating preferably at a higher rate of speed than gear wheel 74 so that the lampsmay be revolved a number of times before their movement is changed by a new adjustment of bar 22.

What I claim is:

1. In anelectric display device of the character described, a wheel construction provided with a plurality of lamps arranged at different distances from the hub, a supporting journal connected with said hub, a pair ofvstandards-for supporting said supporting journal, a rotatable platform for supporting said standards, a rotatable tubular shaft arranged adjacent one of said standards, means connected with said tubular shaft and with the supporting journal for rotating the supporting journal when said shaft is rotated, means for rotating said platform, and an intermittently automatically actuated clutch for connecting said tubular shaft with said rotating means whereby the platform and all of the parts carried thereby will be rotated in a horizontal plane and in addition said lamps will be rotated in a vertical plane intermittently, thus giving (iihe lamps the appearance of being gyrate 2. In an electric display device of the character described, a wheel structure provided with a plurality of lamps, a supporting journal for said wheel structure, a pair of standards connected with said supporting journal for supporting the same, a platform for supporting said standards, a rotating tubular shaft encircling one of said standards, a'beveled gear connected with said tubular shaft, a second beveled gear connected with said supporting journal .and meshing with the first mentioned beveled gear whereby when said tubular shaft is rotated said journal and the wheel structure will be rotated in a vertical plane, means for rotating said platform ina horizontal plane, means for transmitting power from said platform to said tubular shaft for rotating the same, and a clutch arranged between said-means and said tubular shaft whereby the tubular shaft may be thrown into and out of operation so that the movement of the lamps may be va-- ried from a combined horizontal and ver tical movement to a horizontal movement,

3. In an electrical display device of the character described, a rotating wheel structure provided with a plurality of lamps, means for rotating said lamps in a horizontal plane, mechanism connected with said means for rotating said lamps in a vertical plane, said last mentioned means including a clutch, a movable bar formed with cam faces for causing said clutch to be clutched and unclutched whereby the movement of said lamps may be varied from asingle rotary movement to a double movement, and means for directing electrical current to said lampswhile the same are in motion.

4. In an electric display device of the character described, a rotating wheel structure having a plurality of lamps thereon, a

support for the wheel structure, means for rotating said wheel structure in a vertical plane, means for rotating said support in a horizontal plane, said support carrying said wheel during its movement whereby said wheel may rotate in two different planes at the same time, means for disconnecting said wheel structure from its independent power member whereby the wheel will rotate in only one plane, said means including a clutch, a cam member'and means for operating said cam member, said means comprising a rotating ratchet wheel and mechanism for moving said ratchet wheel step by step, thus producing cycles of movement for the clutch and consequently cycles of different paths of rotation for said lamps.

5. In a display device of the character described, a plurality of electric lamps arranged in the same vertical plane, a supporting member for said lamps arranged in a horizontal plane, a hollow shaft connected to the-armature of a motor for rotating said supporting member, a stationary shaft fitted into the hollow shaft and connected with the casing of the motor, a gear wheel connected with the stationary shaft, and means connecting said gear wheel with said lamps for rotating the same when said support is rotated, said means including a clutch and a gear wheel connected with said clutch, said gear wheel meshing with the stationary gear wheel whereby the second gear wheel is rotated as the support is rotated.

6. In a display device of the character described, a plurality of electric lamps arranged in a verticalplane, a rotating platform, support on said platform for supporting said lamps, a motor provided with a hollow shaft, said shaft being connected with said plat-form for rotating the same, a stationary shaft extending through said hollow shaft, a gear wheel rigidly secured to said stationary shaft, rotating means connected with said lamps for rotating the same, a gear wheel mounted on one of said supports and meshing with the stationary gear wheel, a clutch connected with said second mentioned gear wheel adapted to engage said rotatin means, and an adjustable cam member or throwing said clutch into operative position whereby when said platform is rotated by said motor the movement will be transmitted to said lamps for rotating the same, thus giving the lamps a rotary horizontal movement and a rotary movement in a vertical plane.

7. In an electric display device of the character described, a wheel construction provided with electric lamps, a pair of supporting standards, a rotatable shaft connected with said wheel structure and journaled on said standard, a rotating platform for supporting said standard, means for rotating said platform, means connectedwith said platform for rotating said wheel in a plane at right angles to the platform, said means including a clutch, a gear wheel connected with said clutch, a stationary gear wheel meshing with the first mentioned gear wheel whereby when the platform carries said first mentioned gear wheel around therewith the same will be rotated by said stationary gear wheel, a bar having a cam face for opening and closing said clutch, a ratchet wheel mounted on said platform, means connected with said ratchet wheel and with said bar for reciprocating the bar so as to cause the different parts of the cam face to actuate said clutch, means for actuating said ratchet wheel step by step, said means including a rocking arm having a pawl thereon, a gear wheel for actuating said arm, and a stationary pinion meshing with said gear wheel, said last mentioned gear wheel being mounted on said platform and rotatable therewith.

In testimony whereof I have signed my CHARLES TREGONING.

Witnesses:

GEORGE W. BRANE, A. T. SKOYLES. 

